Frequently Asked Questions How long does it take to get Financial Aid? How can I check on my Financial Aid? How do I apply for Financial Aid? What is Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU)? How do I apply for Scholarships? Why is it necessary to write a thank-you card for my scholarship award, and what should I write? What if someone asks for my U.S. Department of Education PIN? Should I share my PIN with anyone? What should I do if I suspect someone else knows my U.S. Department of Education PIN? Are my classes going to be dropped if my Financial Aid is not ready? What happens to my Financial Aid if I drop a class? Do I have to re-apply for Financial Aid every semester? How can I charge my books and supplies to Financial Aid? What is Butler’s Federal School Code? My parents make too much for me to qualify for Financial Aid. What can I do? How many hours do I have to be enrolled in to receive Financial Aid? Can I get Financial Aid from two different colleges during the same semester? What determines my grade level for Federal Direct Loans? How do I find this information? If my Financial Aid is complete, but I decide I do not want to take classes, what should I do?Why do I have to use my parent’s income if I do not live with them, and I pay my own bills? What is verification? Why was I selected? How do I transfer my Financial Aid to/from another school? Is my Financial Aid refund issued to me, or does it carry over for the next semester?When are Financial Aid refund checks mailed out? What happens if I have a Fall only loan or a Spring only loan? How do I appeal my status or get reinstated if I do not meet Financial Aid SAP requirements? Does my academic progress affect my Financial Aid? If I am placed on Financial Aid suspension for SAP, does this mean I will lose my scholarships? Does my SAP status follow me to other institutions should I decide to transfer? Does my SAP status from another institution affect my Financial Aid status at Butler?
The Financial Aid process can take eight weeks or longer, depending on what documentation is required, and how quickly the student fulfills these requirements. Apply early, some types of Federal Aid are awarded to eligible students on a first-come first-serve basis. Butler’s priority date is April 1st for Federal Financial Aid preceding the Fall semester. You can apply for Federal Financial Aid online.
Butler students can check on their Financial Aid through their Pipeline portal account. Pipeline is a convenient, secure, and centralized intranet portal to access important information and web-based services 24/7 at Butler Community College. Pipeline has all the information a student needs to make connections to Butler. Web-based services include e-mail, class registration, grade reporting, class schedules, Financial Aid, etc. In order to view your Butler Financial Aid information such as: status, award, estimated disbursement dates, etc. , log-in to your Pipeline account at the Butler home page. Enter your Pipeline user name and password in the PIPELINE: CLICK HERE TO LOGIN button located on the right of Butler's home page. Once in pipeline, locate ‘Student Quick Clicks’ on the left-hand side of the screen, and choose either ‘FinAid Awards Info’ or ‘FinAid Eligibility Info’. From there, you can view required documents for Financial Aid, or view your Financial Aid awards. How do I avoid setting up a payment contract or paying for my classes should I be eligible to receive Financial Aid? Submit all of your required documents to the Office of Student Financial Aid by the due date and we will guarantee to complete your file before payment is due. Start Early with your FAFSA application. Fall classes beginning in August, all documents are due July1; Spring classes beginning in January, all documents are due December 1; and Summer classes beginning in June are due May 1. You may turn in documents after the due date, but you will need to either setup a payment contract with Accounts Receivable or make payment on your own until your financial aid is awarded to you. How do I apply for Financial Aid? You can apply for Financial Aid online. If you apply online for Financial Aid, the Department of Education (DOE) will process the application in 2-3 weeks. If you fill out the paper application, it can take up to 6 weeks to process. This application covers Grants, Federal Direct Loans and Federal Work-Study. We can mail you a paper application if you like. For faster processing of your online Financial Aid application, you will want to get a PIN from the DOE before applying online. Having a PIN, allows you to electronically sign your application for Financial Aid, thus eliminating the need for mailing any paperwork to the DOE. To apply for a DOE PIN, check here. Butler Community College's Federal School Code is: 001906. The Butler Community College Academic Scholarship Application is available to download and print online. Click here to download the Butler Community College Vocational Scholarship Application. What is the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) on the FAFSA application? Should I use the voluntary DRT option? Beginning with the 2012-2013 year, all students and parents of dependent students who indicate on the FAFSA application that they have already filed a federal tax return may be eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval tool to complete the FAFSA. The DRT will allow the FAFSA on the Web applicants to request and retrieve their income and tax data directly from the IRS. Yes, you should use the voluntary DRT if you are eligible (determined by FAFSA questions you will answer). Once the data is retrieved from the IRS, it can be transferred to the FAFSA on the Web. It will increase the accuracy of your FAFSA information and streamline the application, review and award process. The earlier you apply and the more accurate your application is, the sooner you will be awarded financial aid for which you are eligible. Please allow approximately two weeks from the date you and your parent filed the federal tax return electronically to use the DRT. If you or your parent chose to file a paper tax return, please allow 6-8 weeks for processing by the IRS.
I cannot or I do not want to use the DRT, how do I request an IRS Tax Transcript and/or an IRS Tax Account Transcript? Tax filers can request a transcript, free of charge, of their tax return from the IRS several ways. Click here for instructions. What is Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU)? Click here to see how LEU is calculated, or to find out how much percentage you have left. Can I decline my Pell Grant award? Due to Pell Grant LEU, students do have the right to decline all or part of their Pell Grant awards, or return a previously received Pell Grant award that is awarded during the same academic (award) year you are enrolled in order to preserve future Pell Grant eligibility. We do not recommend you do this. Students may not return any Pell Grant funds from a prior academic (award) year. The procedure for declining a Pell Grant is by submitting to the Office of Student Financial aid a signed, written statement clearly indicating you are declining/returning Pell funds for which you were otherwise eligible and that those funds may not be available once the academic (award) year is over. Be sure to include your name and student ID number on your written statement.
The Butler Community College Academic/Foundation Scholarship Application is available to download and print online. Click here to download the Butler Community College Vocational Scholarship Application. Click here to complete an online Kansas State Scholars scholarship application form, and be sure to submit the required processing fee with the application. Why is it necessary to write a thank-you card for my scholarship award, and what should I write? Thank-you cards are a mandatory condition for accepting foundation and/or academic scholarships at Butler. Click here to review our thank-you card guidelines and tips.
What if someone asks for my U.S. Department of Education PIN? Should I share my PIN with anyone?
DO NOT share your PIN with anyone. Request a duplicate PIN if it has been lost or forgotten or if you feel your PIN has been compromised. When you receive a PIN from the Department of Education, you agree to not disclose or share your PIN with anyone because your PIN serves as your electronic signature and provides access to your personal records, you should never give your
PIN to anyone, including commercial service providers that offer to help you complete your FAFSA. Be sure to keep your PIN in a safe place; you will be able to use the same PIN in the future to apply electronically for student aid and access your U.S. Department of Education records.
What should I do if I suspect someone else knows my U.S. Department of Education PIN?
If your Financial Aid is not complete before payment for classes is due, you will need to contact the Accounts Receivable Office to inquire about a Payment Contract, or pay your bill in full. Once processing of your Financial Aid is complete, it will be applied toward the remaining balance of your payment contract. You are required to continue making payments on your payment contract until processing of your Financial Aid is complete or your balance is paid in full. Please note: if your Financial Aid is complete, BUT a High School transcript or College Transfer transcript(s) are required, your Financial Aid will not hold your classes. Anyone with Financial Aid awarded, but transcripts are required will need to setup a Payment Contract before payment is due.
If you drop a class several things could happen depending on how many hours you drop, the timing of the drop and your current SAP status. If you drop a class after we disburse aid, and after the refund period for the class(es), then you should not owe back any federal funds but could go on warning or suspension at the end of the semester. If it is a late starting class that has not begun, or it is during its refund period then, a mandatory Pell recalculation will be made to determine if funds are owed back. Any class dropped after the refund period for that class will count as attempted hours. If you drop all of your classes you will go on Financial Aid Suspension at the end of the semester: 12-13 policy.
You do not have to re-apply every semester for Financial Aid, however you do have to re-apply for Financial Aid each school year. Butler’s Financial Aid year starts with the Fall semester, and includes the following Spring and Summer semesters. Every Fall, a new Financial Aid year begins. Apply early, some types of Federal Aid are awarded to eligible students on a first-come first-serve basis. Butler’s priority date for Financial Aid is April 1st, and March 1st for scholarships, preceding the Fall semester. You can apply for Financial Aid online. The Butler Community College Academic Scholarship Application is available to download and print online.
Book vouchers are normally available two weeks prior to the beginning of classes each semester. To be eligible for a book voucher, processing of a student’s Financial Aid must be complete, and there must be Financial Aid available after the student’s bill has been paid in full. Take a copy of your current semester schedule and picture ID (current Butler ID or driver's license) to the El Dorado or Andover bookstore. Back to Top
What is Butler’s Federal School Code? Butler’s Federal School Code is 001906.
Most students are eligible for at least an Unsubsidized Direct Loan, even if their parents’ income is too high to qualify for a Pell Grant, or other need-based aid. The following are criteria to be eligible for Federal Student Aid:
The minimum number of credit hours required varies for different types of Financial Aid. To be eligible for a Federal Direct Loan, a student must be enrolled in a minimum of six (6) credit hours. The minimum number of credit hours to be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant varies from student to student. Please contact the Financial Aid Office to ask about your individual situation. Once Pell funds are paid, additional Pell funds will not be disbursed for increased enrollment. You can only receive Pell funds at one college during each term you are enrolled. For scholarships in general, students must be enrolled Full-Time, which is 12 credit hours; however, there are some exceptions. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Students who are taking classes at two different colleges during the same semester may be eligible to receive Financial Aid for their combined enrollment at both colleges. For the Federal Pell Grant, a student can only receive a Pell Grant payment from one college per semester. However, it may be possible to combine the student's credit hours at two colleges into one total enrollment status, and receive the Pell Grant based on the total enrollment from one college. This is referred to as a Consortium Agreement. Not all colleges participate in Consortium Agreements. If a student is enrolled in 12 or more credit hours at one college, the student will not benefit from a Consortium Agreement. With regards to a Consortium Agreement, one school is considered the "home" and the other is the "host". The "home" school is where the student will actually receive their Financial Aid from the Consortium Agreement, and where the student initiates the Consortium Agreement. In most cases the “home” school is the school where the student will be receiving their degree. The "host" school receives a Consortium Agreement from the "home" school, verifies the student's information, and sends the information back to the "home" school. Â Consortium Agreements where Butler is the “host” school will be processed within one week of submission. They will not be processed the same day as they are received. Consortium Agreements where Butler is the “home” school will not show the combined enrollment for the Pell Grant until it is time for disbursement. Contact our Financial Aid Office if you have any questions. Our institutional policy does not allow students to receive loans at two schools during the same term.
Your grade level for a Federal Direct Loan is based on how many hours of college credit that you have passed. Students are classified as a “Freshman”, if they have passed between 0 and 29 credit hours of college credit. Students are classified as a “Sophomore”, if they have passed 30 or more credit hours. You can find out how many credit hours you have passed by logging onto your pipeline account at the Butler home page. Enter your pipeline user name and password in the PIPELINE: CLICK HERE TO LOGIN button located on the right of our home page. Once you are in pipeline, click the 'Student Services' tab at the top, locate ‘Student Quick Clicks’ on the left hand side of the screen, and click on ‘Academic Transcript’. Under ‘Student Records’, click on ‘Academic Transcript’. Next, it will ask for ‘Transcript Level’, choose ‘Undergraduate’ from the drop-down menu, and click ‘Submit’. This will show your current Unofficial Academic Transcript, click on ‘Transcript Totals’. The number of credit hours listed for ‘Overall – Passed Hours’, will be used to determine your grade level.
You should notify our Financial Aid Office, and we will cancel your Financial Aid for that semester. If you were also awarded Financial Aid for the next semester, that Financial Aid will still be available if you decide to take classes. ***Failure to attend or ceasing to attend a class does not constitute an official withdrawal! ***
The Department of Education uses the following criteria to determine if a student must provide their parent's income information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): For the 2012-2013 Academic Year - (for classes during Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Summer 2013)
For the 2013-2014 Academic Year - (for classes during Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Summer 2014)
If you can answer "Yes" to any of the questions listed above for the appropriate academic year, then you are not required to provide your parents' information on the FAFSA. If you answer "No" to all of the questions above, then you are required to provide your parents’ information on the FAFSA, unless there were extreme circumstances as to why you are no longer dependent on your parents for support. Independent status is NOT determined by your wish to be financially independent from your parents, nor based on your parents’ unwillingness to finance your college education. Please contact the Financial Aid Office if you have additional questions.
If your parents are divorced or separated, you will provide information on the FAFSA for the parent who you lived with more during the past 12 months. (If you did not live with one parent more than the other, give answers about the parent who provided more financial support during the past 12 months, or during the most recent year that you actually received support from a parent. ) If that parent is remarried as of today, answer the questions on the rest of the FAFSA form about that parent and the person who your parent married (your stepparent). I am a dependent student and had to include parental information on my FAFSA. My parent(s) and/or step-parent is enrolled in at least six credits of post-secondary coursework. Can an adjustment be made to my FAFSA application through Professional Judgment? Yes, you will need to provide the Butler Office of Student Financial Aid Office with a Professional Judgment Enrollment Certification 12-13 form for your parent(s) and/or step-parent. Once our office has received this form from the attending institution's registrar's office, an adjustment will be made to include that parent as a member in college if it is beneficial to you.
Verification is a process in which the Financial Aid Office is required to verify certain information listed by the student on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Common information to verify includes Federal Income Tax information, number in household, number of students in college, and untaxed income information. The Department of Education randomly selects applicants for the verification process. If a student is selected for verification, they must provide all the required documentation in order to receive Financial Aid. EFC stands for 'Expected Family Contribution'. The Department of Education uses income and asset information from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to calculate each student’s EFC. The student’s EFC determines his/her eligibility for need-based aid, such as Federal Pell Grant, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Direct Loans.
There are a couple of ways to get your Financial Aid information sent to Butler. If you completed your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online, you can go online and add Butler's Federal School Code to your Student Aid Report as a correction. Adding Butler's School Code lets the Department of Education (DOE) know that you want your Financial Aid information to be sent to Butler. Butler's Federal School Code is 001906. If you are transferring to another school, you will list that school instead of Butler. If you completed a paper FAFSA, we will need the DRN number, from the first page of your Student Aid Report (SAR) in order to begin processing your Financial Aid. The SAR was mailed to you from the Department of Education (DOE). If you cannot locate your SAR, you can call the DOE at 1-800-4-FED-AID, and request to have a duplicate copy mailed to you. Once we receive your Financial Aid information from the DOE, we will contact you, letting you know of any further documentation that is needed.
If you or your parents’ financial situation is different than what is listed on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you can complete the Professional Judgment form. This form allows you to list how your situation has changed, and document these changes. Common changes are: a loss of employment, reduced employment, loss of untaxed income, or having one or more of your parents attending college. Please contact the Financial Aid professional judgment counselor if you have any specific questions regarding your situation.
All Financial Aid available after a student’s bill has been paid, is refunded to the student each semester. Financial Aid refunds do not carry over for the next semester. Financial Aid refunds are mailed to students approximately six weeks after the beginning of each semester.
Award letters are based on Full-Time enrollment. If you enroll less than Full-Time, your Financial Aid will be pro-rated based on your actual enrollment for each semester.
Financial Aid refunds are mailed to students approximately six weeks after the beginning of each semester. You are not allowed to pick up refund checks. To expedite delivery of any refund, always make sure your local address is current by checking your Pipeline account.
What happens if I have a Fall only loan or a Spring only loan or Summer only loan? If you have a Fall only loan or Spring only loan or Summer only loan, the funds will come in one disbursement. The first disbursement will be approximately 30 days after the beginning of the semester.
Federal annual loan limits are based on your grade level for a Federal Direct Loan. This based on how many hours of college credit that you have passed. Students are classified as a "Freshman", if they have passed between 0 and 29 credit hours of college credit. Students are classified as a "Sophomore", if they have passed 30 or more credit hours. The annual loan limits are:
What happens to my Financial Aid if I fail to meet the standards for Financial Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)? If you do not appeal or your appeal is denied, your Financial Aid will be cancelled for the following term(s). If you appeal and your appeal is granted, you will be placed on probation for the next term your enroll. While on probation, Financial Aid can be received. However, while on probation you must complete all credit hours enrolled and meet the 2.0 GPA requirement for the semester and overall standards, and meet the overall 67% completion rate. If you fail to meet these, you will go back to suspension status and will not receive Financial Aid at Butler.
If I am placed on warning for Financial Aid, does this mean I will lose my Financial Aid for the following term? No, this is a warning and you do not need to appeal your SAP status. However, during the following term if you do not complete all of your credits you are enrolled in or if you do not meet the 2.0 GPA requirement for the semester and overall standards, or the overall 67% completion rate, then your SAP status will automatically calculate as suspension. Should you go on suspension at the end of the term, all Financial Aid will be cancelled for the following term(s).
How do I appeal my status or get reinstated if I do not meet Financial Aid SAP requirements? You may return the SAP Appeal form enclosed with your SAP letter or download the form via the Butler web page and submit your form to the Office of Student Financial Aid located at 901 South Haverhill Road, El Dorado, KS 67042. In addition, the Office of Student Financial Aid will accept faxed forms at 316-322-3316. All supporting documentation must be submitted with the appeal form. The decision of the Appeal Committee is final and you may not re-appeal. If your appeal is granted, you will be on probation. If denied, you can take at least three credits at Butler during one semester and pay for those credits on your own, maintain a semester and overall GPA of at 2.0, and have an overall 67% completion rate. You may need to take more than three credits to meet the standard. Once you have met these requirements, you should contact the Butler Office of Student Financial Aid to inform us you have taken three or more credits at Butler on your own.
What happens to my Financial Aid if I am placed on suspension for Financial Aid due to my instructor not submitting my grades on time or the instructor made a mistake on my grade(s)? You will remain on suspension until the incomplete or new grade(s) are updated in the computer system. The Office of Student Financial Aid runs weekly reports to check for changes to your record. Once the grade(s) are updated and if you meet the requirements for SAP, you will receive a letter from the Office of Student Financial Aid indicating your new SAP status. Does my academic progress affect my Financial Aid? Academic progress is calculated different from Financial Aid SAP requirements. You can be placed on both. Your Financial Aid SAP status is the only one that will affect your Financial Aid. Is a Federal Direct Loan considered Financial Aid and if I am placed on suspension for SAP, does this mean my loan will be cancelled? Yes, Federal Direct Loans are considered Financial Aid. If you do not meet SAP requirements, any future disbursements for your loan will be cancelled and your loan will go into repayment status. Should you be reinstated later, you will need to accept your loan via your Pipeline account, or submit a written or e-mail request to be approved for a student loan. If I am placed on Financial Aid suspension for SAP, does this mean I will lose my scholarships? Not necessarily, however you should double check with your scholarship sponsor.
Can I submit an appeal for my Financial Aid SAP status after the deadline or for a previous semester?
Does my SAP status follow me to other institutions should I decide to transfer?
Does my SAP status from another institution affect my Financial Aid status at Butler?
What if I have never received Financial Aid at Butler, but I have taken Butler classes and my overall GPA is below a 2.0, or my overall completion rate is below 67%, does this affect my eligibility for Financial Aid?
How can I help the Butler Office of Student Financial Aid with protecting my identity from being stolen?
What if you discover you are a victim of identity fraud or you fear you may be a victim, what should you do?
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